Green Infrastructure Champions Program

Green Infrastructure Champions Program

This program is partially funded by the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment

Station, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, NJ Sea Grant Consortium, The William

Penn Foundation and is a collaboration of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water

Resources Program and the Green Infrastructure Subcommittee of Jersey Water Works.

Please enter your full name and affiliation in the chat. This

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Water Resources Program

Green Infrastructure Champion Training: Part 4

“Stormwater management regulations,

policies, and ordinances”

February 26, 2021

Virtual Workshop


• 1972 Federal Clean Water Act

• Surface Water Quality Standards (N.J.A.C. 7:9B)

• Municipal “Phase II” NJPDES Stormwater Regulations

(N.J.A.C. 7:14a)

• Stormwater Management Regulations (N.J.A.C. 7:8)

• Enhanced Stormwater Control Ordinance

(The Watershed Institute)

• NJ Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act (N.J.S.A. 4:24-

39 et seq)


• The book was that give birth to the environmental movement.

• Serialized in three parts in The New Yorker, where President John

F. Kennedy read it in the summer of 1962.

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962)


• The pesticide DDT thinned the

birds' eggshells and made them

unable to withstand incubation.

• DDT had caused damage to

wildlife, birds, bees, agricultural

animals, domestic pets, and even

humans.

https://youtu.be/X4nTCGUjfGA

https://youtu.be/X4nTCGUjfGA


Children Play in DDT Haze After Mosquito Spraying,

Camden NJ (1960s)


The bald eagle is a shining example of recovery in New Jersey.

In 1973, when the Endangered and Nongame Species

Conservation Act was passed, there was just one nesting pair, in a

remote forest in Cumberland County.

Today there are more than 150 nesting pairs of eagles in the state.

June 23, 2017 (NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife - Raptors in New

Jersey)

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/raptor_info.htm


On August 23,1966 a NASA lunar orbiter transmitted the first

image of Earth from the Moon. The grainy black & white image

provided little detail, but much psychological impact. Humans

got their first glimpse of “home” from the perspective of the

universe, and what they saw was unsettling.

Spaceship Earth


The Environmental Revolution

There were, as always,

threshold moments. In the

summer of 1969, the grossly

polluted Cuyahoga River burst

into flames as it passed through

the city of Cleveland. Spurred

by such outrages, millions

observed the first Earth Day, in

April of 1970. This seminal

event served to focus the

energies of the nation's youth –

and eventually lawmakers – on

the problems facing our

environment.

Cuyahoga River


https://clevelandhistorical.org/ite

ms/show/63#.WPemGvnyuUk


As the turbulent 1960s ran their

course, the environmental

movement took its place

alongside civil rights, women's

rights, and war protests as a hot

button topic and agent for

societal change.

America suddenly awoke to the

realization that the planet did

and always had nurtured us, and

that Mother Earth was in dire

trouble.

The Environmental Revolution

1970: The first Earth Day in Philadelphia

Spaceship Earth

The “Blue Marble” was small, fragile, vulnerable.

And there was no question who its caretaker must be.

Not everything was better “back in the day”. The quality of our

water and our air has improved markedly in the past 40 years,

thanks to some far-sighted legislation passed by Congress during

the hey-day of the green movement.

The Clean Air & Water Acts


Why did we need a Clean Water Act?

• 60% of waterways in the US were not

“fishable or swimmable”

• The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was so

polluted that it caught fire


Federal Clean Water Act

(CWA) of 1972

Primary Objective of CWA is to

restore and maintain the integrity

of the nation’s waters


1. To eliminate the discharge of pollutants into

the nation’s waters (zero discharge of

pollutants by 1985)

2. To achieve water quality levels that are

fishable and swimmable by mid-1983

Two Fundamental National

Goals of the CWA:


1. Authorizes federal financial assistance for

municipal sewage treatment plant

construction

2. Creates regulatory requirements that apply to

industrial and municipal dischargers

Two Major Parts of the CWA:


1. Must meet secondary treatment standards by

July 1, 1977

2. Case-by-case extension up to July 1, 1988

3. By 1988, 86% of all cities met the 1988

deadline

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants


1. Must install “best practicable control technology”

(BPT) by July 1, 1977

2. BPT focused on conventional pollutants

(suspended solids, biochemical oxygen

demanding materials, fecal coliform, pH)

3. By March 31, 1989, industry is required to use

“best available technology” (BAT) that is

economically achievable.

4. BATs focused on toxic substances

Industrial Discharges


• Specific numerical limitations established

by EPA and placed on certain pollutants

from certain sources

• Applied to municipal and industrial

discharges through numerical limitations in

discharge permits

Technology-based Effluent Limitations


• Standard for overall quality of water

• Consists of designated beneficial use or uses of

waterbody (recreation, water supply, industrial or

other)

• Plus a numerical or narrative statement identifying

maximum concentrations of various pollutants that

would not interfere with the designated uses

• Each state must establish water quality standards

for all bodies of water in the state

Water Quality Standards


• States must identify waterways that are

not meeting water quality standards

(Integrated Water Quality Assessment

Report)

Impaired Waterways


• In waterways where water quality

standards are not being met, states must

set a TMDL of pollutants at a level to

ensure that water quality standards are

attained and maintained

• EPA estimates 40,000 U.S. Waters are

impaired and require a TMDL

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)


• Directs states to develop and implement

nonpoint pollution management programs

• Encouraged to pursue groundwater

protection activities

• Federal financial assistance covers up to

60% of the program implementation costs

Nonpoint Source Pollution (Section 319)


• Federal-state partnership

• Federal government sets the agenda and

standards for pollution abatement

• States carry out day-to-day activities of

implementation and enforcement

• 46 states have been authorized by EPA to

issue administer permit program

Federal and State Responsibilities


• Created in 1972 by the Clean Water Act, the

NPDES permit program is authorized to state

governments by EPA to perform many permitting,

administrative, and enforcement aspects of

the program

• New Jersey has the “NJPDES” program

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination

System (NPDES)


• Protection and enhancement of surface water

resources

• Class definitions and quality criteria

• Use designation and quality criteria for the

mainstem of the Delaware River including the

Delaware Bay

• Classification of surface waters of the State

• Procedures for establishing water quality-based

effluent limitations

N.J.A.C. 7:9B - Surface Water Quality Standards


In all FW1 waters the designated uses are:

1. Set aside for posterity to represent the natural aquatic

environment and its associated biota;

2. Primary and secondary contact recreation;

3. Maintenance, migration and propagation of the

natural and established aquatic biota; and

4. Any other reasonable uses.

Designated uses


In all PL waters the designated uses are:

1. Cranberry bog water supply and other agricultural uses;

2. Maintenance, migration and propagation of the natural

and established biota indigenous to this unique

ecological system;

3. Public potable water supply after conventional filtration

treatment (a series of processes including filtration,

flocculation, coagulation, and sedimentation, resulting in

substantial particulate removal but no consistent removal

of chemical constituents) and disinfection;

4. Primary and secondary contact recreation; and


Designated uses


In all FW2 waters the designated uses are:

1. Maintenance, migration and propagation of the natural

and established biota;

2. Primary and secondary contact recreation;

3. Industrial and agricultural water supply;

4. Public potable water supply after conventional filtration

treatment (a series of processes including filtration,

flocculation, coagulation, and sedimentation, resulting in

substantial particulate removal but no consistent removal

of chemical constituents) and disinfection; and


Designated uses


• NT: Nontrout waters

• TM: Trout Maintenance

• TP: Trout Production

• C1: Category 1 Waters

• C2: Category 2 Waters

• SE: general surface water classification applied to saline

waters of estuaries (SE1, SE2, or SE3)

• SC: general surface water classification applied to

coastal saline waters

Other Designated uses

Substance Criteria Classifications

Dissolved

Oxygeni. Not Less than 7.0 mg/l at any time FW2-TP

ii. 24-hour average not less than 6.0. Not less

than 5.0 at any time

FW2-TM

iii. 24-hour average not less than 5.0. Not

less than 4.0 at any time

FW2-NT, SE1

iv. Not less than 4.0 at any time Tidal portions

of FW2-NT

tribs to DR

v. Not less than 5.0 at any time SC

vii. Not less than 4.0 at any time SE2

viii. Not less than 3.0 at any time SE3


• Criteria for FW2 and SE/SC waters

• Aquatic Life Criteria (Acute or Chronic)

• Human Health Criteria

Surface Water Quality Criteria for Toxic Substances

Toxic

Substance

Fresh water(FW2) Criteria Saline Water (SE&SC) Criteria

AquaticHuman

HealthAquatic

Human

Health

Acute Chronic Acute Chronic

Arsenic 340(d)(s) 150(d)(s) 0.017(hc)(T) 69(d)(s) 36(d)(s) 0.061(hc)(T)

(d) Criterion is expressed as a function of the Water Effect Ration.

(hc) Human Health Carcinogen

(s) Dissolved criterion

(T) Total recoverable criterion


• Regulations provide classification for each waterway

• Some waterways have difference classifications for

different sections of the waterways

Surface Water Classifications

SOUTH BRANCH RARITAN RIVER

(Mt. Olive) - Source to the dam that is 390 feet upstream

of the Flanders-Drakestown Road bridge and the two tributaries

which originate north and east of the Budd Lake Airfield FW2-NT(C1)

(Mt. Olive) - Dam to confluence with Turkey Brook FW2-TM(C1)

(Middle Valley) - Confluence with Turkey Brook to Rt. 512 bridge FW2-TP(C1)

(Califon) - Rt. 512 bridge to downstream end of Packers

Island, except segment described separately, below FW2-TM

(Ken Lockwood Gorge) - River and tributaries within

Ken Lockwood Gorge Wildlife Management Area FW2-TM(C1)

(Neshanic Sta.) - Downstream end of Packers Island to

confluence with North Branch, Raritan River FW2-NT

TRIBUTARIES, SOUTH BRANCH RARITAN RIVER

(Long Valley) - Entire length FW2-TP(C1)

(High Bridge) - Entire length FW2-TM

(S. of Hoffmans) - Entire length FW2-TP(C1)

(S. of Schooley’s Mt.) - Entire length FW2-TP(C1)

MAIN STEM RARITAN RIVER

(Bound Brook) - From confluence of North and South Branches

to Landing Lane bridge in New Brunswick and all freshwater

tributaries downstream of Landing Lane bridge. FW2-NT

(Sayreville) - Landing Lane bridge to Raritan Bay and all saline

water tributaries SE1


• Regulates discharges to surface water and groundwater

of stormwater from large, medium, and small municipal

separate storm sewer systems

• Four general permits:

1. Tier A Municipalities

2. Tier B Municipalities

3. Public Complexes

4. Highway Departments

N.J.A.C. 7:14a - Municipal “Phase II” NJPDES

Stormwater Regulations


• Requires that each Tier A Municipality develop,

implement, update and maintain an MS4 stormwater

program

• Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SPPP) describes

how the municipality will implement each permit

requirement and provides a place for record keeping and

documenting when permit requirements were met.

N.J.A.C. 7:14a - Municipal “Phase II” NJPDES

Stormwater Regulations



1. The Public Involvement and Participation SBR provides

for public participation in developing and implementing

the MS4 Stormwater Program

2. The Local Public Education and Outreach SBR requires

compliance with the established standards for

implementing a public education and outreach program

(obtain 12 educational points – see Attachment B)

3. The Construction Site Stormwater Runoff SBR is not

required in the SPPP because construction site

stormwater runoff activities are authorized under a

separate NJPDES permit

Statewide Basic Requirements (SBRs)


4. The Post Construction Stormwater Management in

New Development and Redevelopment SBR

requires two key components be included in the

SPPP:

• Develop a Municipal Stormwater Management

Plan (MSWMP), which becomes a key element

of the municipal master plan

• Adopt a Stormwater Control Ordinance (SCO)




5. The Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping for

Municipal Operators SBR for eliminating and/or

minimizing stormwater pollution from public and

municipal activities, and educating municipal

employees and officials of their responsibilities

includes a number of community-wide ordinances

and measures to control solids and floatables:



• Community Wide Ordinances for dealing with improper

disposal of waste

• Community Wide Measures for controlling solids and

floatables

• BMPs for Municipal Maintenance Yards and Other

Ancillary Operations for stormwater discharges from

municipal maintenance yards and activities

• Employee Training for stormwater on topics applicable

to title and duties

Local Ordinances and Measures To Control

Solids and Floatables


• Stormwater Management Design Review Training for

engineers and others that review stormwater

management designs for development and

redevelopment projects

• Municipal Board and Governing Body Member Related

Training for board and council members that review

and approve applications for development and

redevelopment projects

Local Ordinances and Measures To Control

Solids and Floatables (cont’d)


6. The MS4 Outfall Pipe Mapping, and Illicit

Discharge and Scouring Detection and Control

SBR for identifying and eliminating illicit discharges

and stream channel erosion at municipal

stormwater outfalls, which requires:

MS4 Outfall Pipe Mapping


• The development, updating and maintenance of

an MS4 outfall pipe map

• The development, updating and implementation

of a program for detecting, investigating, and

controlling any localized stream scour at outfall

pipes owned or operated by the Tier A

Municipality

• The development, updating, implementation

and enforcement of a program for detecting and

eliminating illicit discharges

MS4 Outfall Mapping (cont’d)



• The development, updating and maintenance of

an MS4 outfall pipe map

• The development, updating and implementation

of a program for detecting, investigating, and

controlling any localized stream scour at outfall

pipes owned or operated by the Tier A

Municipality

• The development, updating, implementation

and enforcement of a program for detecting and

eliminating illicit discharges

MS4 Outfall Mapping (cont’d)


• Develop, update and implement a program to ensure

adequate long-term cleaning, operation and maintenance

• Inspect and maintain stormwater facilities pursuant to any

maintenance plans to ensure proper function and

operation of each stormwater facility

• Maintain a log sufficient to demonstrate compliance with

this section and a schedule for repairs to be made

Stormwater Facilities Maintenance Requirements


• Develop, update and implement a program to ensure

adequate long-term cleaning, operation and maintenance

• Inspect and maintain stormwater facilities pursuant to any

maintenance plans to ensure proper function and

operation of each stormwater facility

• Maintain a log sufficient to demonstrate compliance with

this section and a schedule for repairs to be made

Stormwater Facilities Maintenance Requirements


• Identify stormwater related pollutants listed in approved

or adopted TMDL reports

• Annually review the approved or adopted TMDL reports

identified

• Use TMDL information to prioritize stormwater facility

maintenance

• Identify and develop opportunities to address specific

sources of stormwater related pollutants contributing to

discharges authorized under the Tier A permit.

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)


• Use nonstructural management strategies

• Protect communities from increases in stormwater

volume and peak flows as a result of new development

• Maintain groundwater recharge

• Protect waterways from pollution carried in stormwater

runoff

N.J.A.C. 7:8 - Stormwater Management Regulations


New Jersey Stormwater Management Rules

• Rules apply to any “Major Development” defined as a project disturbing more than 1 acre or increasing impervious surfaces by ¼ acre or more

• Design and Performance Standards established in NJAC 7:8-5, for:

– Nonstructural Stormwater Management Strategies

– Stormwater Quantity

– Groundwater Recharge

– Stormwater Quality

– Stormwater Maintenance Plan

60


Nonstructural Strategies

• Plan the project using Low Impact Development

(LID) Principles

• Collect, infiltrate and where possible reuse

stormwater near its source

• Capture runoff from small storm events in vegetated

systems to protect water quality and promote

recharge

• Minimize and disconnect impervious surfaces

Water Quantity Performance Standards

– Demonstrate that post-development 2, 10, and 100-year storm

event hydrographs do not exceed pre-development hydrographs

or

– Demonstrate that hydrograph peaks will not increase and that

increase in volume or change in timing won’t increase flood

damage downstream

or

– Design BMPs so that 2, 10, and 100-year pre-development

hydrographs are reduced to 50%, 75%, and 80%, respectively

• 2-year rainfall (3.3 inches)

• 10-year rainfall (5.0 inches)

• 100-year rainfall (8.3 inches)SOURCE: NJ Stormwater Management Rules and BMP Manual


Groundwater Recharge Performance Standards

– Maintain 100% of average annual groundwater

recharge volume

or

– Infiltrate increase in the post development runoff

volume for the 2-year storm

SOURCE: NJ Stormwater Management Rules and BMP Manual


Water Quality Performance Standards

– Install BMPs to reduce

at least 80% of total

suspended solids (TSS)

loads

– Install BMPs to provide

nutrient removal to

maximum extent feasible

BMP TSS Removal Rate

Bioretention 90%

Constructed Wetlands 90%

Forested Buffers 70%

Extended Detention Basin 40-60%

Infiltration Structure 80%

Sand Filter 80%

Vegetative Filter Strip 50%

Wet Pond 60-90%

SOURCE: NJ Stormwater Management Rules

and BMP Manual


NJ Stormwater Guidance


2019 Revisions

1. The current requirement that major developments

incorporate nonstructural stormwater management

strategies to the “maximum extent practical” to meet

groundwater recharge standards, stormwater runoff

quantity standards, and stormwater runoff quality

standards, with a requirement that green

infrastructure be utilized to meet these same

standards.

2. Total suspended solids (TSS) removal only applies

to runoff from motor vehicle surfaces

NJDEP Green Infrastructure Definition

A stormwater management measure that manages stormwater close to

its source by:

1. Treating stormwater runoff through infiltration into subsoil

2. Treating stormwater runoff through filtration by vegetation or soil

3. Storing stormwater runoff for reuse

• Green infrastructure best management practices (BMP)

must be used to satisfy recharge, quantity, and quality

• Three tables identifying the performance of each BMP

in meeting the three standards

– Water Quality & Recharge – BMPs in Table 1

– Quantity – BMPs in Table 1 or Table 2

– If received a variance – BMPs in Table 1, Table 2, or Table 3

• Maintain existing ability to propose an alternative

stormwater design. Alternative design must meet GI

definition and must meet drainage area limitation if

similar to BMP with limit.

Green Infrastructure Standard

Best Management

Practice

Quality

TSS removal rate (%)Quantity Recharge

Minimum separation from

seasonal high-water table (ft)

Bioretention Systems 80 or 90 Yes Yes

No

2

1

Cisterns 0 Yes No -

Dry Wells 0 No Yes 2

Grass Swales 50 or less No No 2

Green Roofs 0 Yes No -

Infiltration Basins 80 Yes Yes 2

Manufactured Treatment

Device 50 or 80 No No Dependent upon the device

Pervious Paving Systems 80 YesYes

No

2

1

Sand Filters 80 Yes Yes 2

Vegetative Filter Strips 60-80 No No -

Table 1

Table 1 BMPs shall be used for recharge, quantity, and

quality

Drainage area limitation applies to: bioretention basins, dry

wells, infiltration basins, manufactured treatment devices,

and sand filters.

Best Management Practice

Quality

TSS removal

rate (%)

Quantity Recharge

Minimum separation

from seasonal high

water table (ft)

Bioretention Systems 80 or 90 YesYes

No

2

1


Standard Constructed Wetlands 90 Yes No N/A

Wet Ponds 50-90 Yes No N/A

Table 2

Table 2 BMPs may only be used for quantity

Best Management Practice

Quality

TSS removal rate

(%)

Quantity Recharge


seasonal high water table

(ft)

Blue Roofs 0 Yes No N/A

Extended Detention Basins 40-60 Yes No 1



Sand Filters 80 Yes No 1

Subsurface Gravel Wetlands 90 No No 1

Wet ponds 50-90 Yes No N/A

Table 3

Table 3 BMPs may only be used if a variance is granted


Let’s talk about the practicality of

these new regulations


Best Management

Practice

Quality

TSS removal rate (%)Quantity Recharge


seasonal high-water table (ft)

Bioretention Systems 80 or 90 Yes Yes

No

2

1

Cisterns 0 Yes No -

Dry Wells 0 No Yes 2

Grass Swales 50 or less No No 2

Green Roofs 0 Yes No -




Pervious Paving Systems 80 YesYes

No

2

1

Sand Filters 80 Yes Yes 2

Vegetative Filter Strips 60-80 No No -

Table 1

Pervious Paving Systems

Permeable Pavements

• Underlying stone reservoir

• Porous asphalt and pervious

concrete are manufactured

without "fine" materials to allow

infiltration

• Grass pavers are concrete

interlocking blocks with open

areas to allow grass to grow

• Ideal application for porous

pavement is to treat a low traffic

or overflow parking area

ADVANTAGES

• Manage stormwater runoff

• Minimize site disturbance

• Promote groundwater recharge

• Low life cycle costs, alternative to costly traditional stormwatermanagement methods

• Mitigation of urban heat island effect

• Contaminant removal as water moves through layers of system

COMPONENTS

Porous Asphalt

Grass Pavers

Bioretention Systems

Lots of Bioretention Systems

Infiltration Systems

Sand Filter

THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE

ENHANCED MODEL

STORMWATER ORDINANCE

Mike Pisauro, Esq.

Policy Director

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Establishes and implements, through the State Soil

Conservation Committee and the Soil Conservation

Districts, in cooperation with the counties, the

municipalities and the Department of Environmental

Protection, a Statewide comprehensive and coordinated

erosion and sediment control program to reduce the danger

from storm water runoff, to retard nonpoint pollution from

sediment and to conserve and protect the land, water, air

and other environmental resources of the State.

N.J.S.A. 4:24-39 - NJ Soil Erosion and

Sediment Control Act

The Standards


• Requires all development that disturbs more than 5,000

square feet to have a soil erosion and sediment control

plan

• Requires practices such as:

- Silt fences

- Tree protection

- Gravel tracking pads

- Inlet protection

Some Highlights


• Acid Soils Management

• Dune Stabilization

• Maintaining Permanent Vegetative Cover for Soil

Stabilization

• Stabilization with Mulch Only

• Stabilization with Sod

• Temporary Vegetative cover for Soil Stabilization

• Topsoiling (revised July 2017)

• Tree Protection During Construction

• Trees, Shrubs and Vines

Vegetative Standards


• Channel Stabilization

• Conduit Outlet Protection

• Detention Structures

• Dewatering

• Diversions

• Dust Control

• Grade Stabilization Structure

• Grassed Waterway

• Land Grading (revised July 2017)

• Lined Waterway

• Off-Site Stability analysis

Engineering Standards


• Riprap

• Sediment Barrier

• Sediment Basin

• Slope Protection Structures

• Soil Bioengineering

• Stabilized Construction Access

• Storm Sewer Inlet Protection

• Stream Crossing

• Subsurface Drainage

• Traffic Control

• Turbidity Barrier

Engineering Standards


• New Jersey League of Conservation Voters

• ANJEC (Association of NJ Environmental Commissions

• Citizens’ Climate Lobby

• New Jersey Environmental Lobby

• New Jersey Sierra Club

• Pinelands Preservation Alliance

• New Jersey Highlands Coalition

• Watershed Institute


Thank YouQUESTIONS?

Green Infrastructure Champions Program

Documents